Haidong Country's statement quickly spread across the globe.
The countries that received the news were shocked, but they also could not help feeling sorry for Huaxia.
Many countries knew what had happened.
Over the past year, Huaxia had been unable to activate its ancestor symbol, leaving it crushed beneath Haidong and Sakura.
At last, it had managed to activate it.
Yet not a single person in the entire nation had awakened their bloodline.
They had seen bad luck before, but never anything this bad.
Still, many countries felt that Huaxia had brought this on itself.
Having no Awakened was one thing. It could simply keep its head down.
Plenty of small countries with short histories did exactly that.
After summoning their ancestors, those countries had anywhere from eighty or a hundred people activate their bloodlines to as few as ten or twenty.
And since their ancestors had lived so recently, they had no particularly illustrious achievements.
Even after activating their bloodlines, their descendants were only a little stronger than ordinary people.
It was better than nothing, but that was all.
But those countries knew their place!
Never mind provoking anyone-they stayed silent even when others mocked them to their faces.
But Huaxia?
It did not have a single Awakened!
Yet it had actually dared to publish those articles and slap Haidong Country in the face.
What on earth was it thinking?
Did Huaxia really believe a single inheritor could stand against Haidong Country's hundred-odd thousand Awakened?
It was asking to die!
Countries that had always been at odds with Huaxia naturally gloated.
Countless people began mocking Huaxia online for overestimating itself.
Even countries that had once enjoyed good relations with Huaxia chose to turn a blind eye.
Never mind intervening-they did not even dare step forward to condemn what was happening.
Between nations, there had never been friendship, only interests.
When Huaxia was powerful, those countries benefited from it, so naturally they were happy to cheer it on.
But now?
Huaxia's lone inheritor had to face a hundred-odd thousand madmen from Haidong Country.
There was no question about it. He was doomed!
Intervening now would bring them no benefit whatsoever.
And if Haidong Country set its sights on them, they might even bring disaster upon themselves.
Under these circumstances, unless someone had completely lost their mind,
who would speak up for Huaxia?
Who would dare speak up for Huaxia?
Haidong Country's statement hung over Huaxia like layers of heavy storm clouds.
A few words from a tiny country had left Huaxia isolated from the world.
That was the deterrent power of a hundred-odd thousand Awakened!
It was also the greatest source of confidence for Jin Dachang and Haidong Country!
Under this immense pressure, public sentiment within Huaxia quietly began to shift.
Su Chen, who had been the center of attention just moments before, suddenly became a hot potato in some people's eyes.
Several people of considerable standing rushed to Zhu Yuanzheng's office to demand answers.
"General Zhu, where exactly is Su Chen? He can't go into hiding at a time like this!"
"Get Su Chen here right away so we can figure out how to resolve this!"
Several middle-aged men in sharp suits raged in front of Zhu Yuanzheng.
Zhu Yuanzheng raised his eyes, glanced at them, and asked unhurriedly,
"Su Chen has more important things to do. He has no time to see you."
"And think before you speak. He is Huaxia's inheritor now. Why would he need to hide within Huaxia's own borders?"
Their mouths twitched, but their tone did not soften in the slightest.
Zhu Yuanzheng commanded great respect in the military, but their own ranks were far from low. A few words from him would hardly scare them off.
"Do you realize how serious this is? We don't have time to argue with you!"
The middle-aged man leading them slapped the desk.
"What were you thinking, going out of your way to provoke Haidong Country?"
"Now Haidong Country is using this as an excuse to declare war on Huaxia! This is all your fault!"
"Get Su Chen here immediately. He owes me an explanation today!"
Zhu Yuanzheng gave the man a sidelong look and snorted.
"An explanation? What explanation?"
"Su Chen merely spoke a few words of truth. Was that wrong?"
"If the people of Haidong want a fight, then let them fight!"
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzheng still looked utterly unconcerned, the middle-aged man grew even angrier.
"Easy for you to say! Haidong Country has a hundred-odd thousand Awakened. What does Huaxia have to fight them with?"
"Zhu Yuanzheng, Zhu Yuanzheng! I put in so much effort to finally stabilize relations between our two countries."
"And you've ruined all of it in one stroke!"
"If Haidong Country really declares war, you'll be traitors to Huaxia!"
Bang!
Before the middle-aged man could finish, Zhu Yuanzheng slammed his own palm onto the desk.
"Lou, I wasn't going to bring this up until you opened your mouth!"
"That great effort you're talking about-wasn't it just using Huaxia's assets to curry favor with Jin Dachang?"
"Don't think I don't know how much you've secretly handed over to Haidong this past year!"
"And now you actually have the nerve to claim you did it for Huaxia?"
"If you hadn't pushed it through single-handedly, we would never have sat down at the negotiating table with Haidong Country's Awakened!"
"You nearly sold off our ancestor symbol for your own petty ambitions. Are you even fucking human?"
"Thank goodness Su Chen appeared and stopped your scheme with the people of Haidong!"
"Otherwise, even if I'd laid down my life, I probably still couldn't have saved the ancestor symbol."
"Oh, and now that Haidong is about to declare war, you're panicking."
"But you aren't worried about what might happen to our country. You're worried whether Haidong will still honor the terms it promised you!"
"Go on, tell me I'm wrong!"
Under Zhu Yuanzheng's furious rebuke, the middle-aged man's face alternated between livid and pale. The others looked horrified as well.
"You... you're talking nonsense!"
"My conscience is clear about everything I've done! This is vicious slander!"
Zhu Yuanzheng snorted, opened a drawer, and tossed a stack of documents onto the desk.
"Your conscience is clear, is it?"
"I knew something was wrong with you long ago. I've had people watching you this entire year."
"Go on! Look at these and try telling me again that your conscience is clear!"
Then Zhu Yuanzheng pointed at the others around him.
"And you bastards! You're living in Huaxia, but your hearts have long since flown abroad, haven't they?"
"I didn't have time to deal with you before. Did you really think you'd covered your tracks perfectly?"
"Su Chen was absolutely right! You all look so respectable, always going on about serving the country and its people, but the moment your own interests are threatened, you show your true colors!"
"Guards!"
As Zhu Yuanzheng slapped the desk, the guards who had been waiting outside immediately swarmed in and seized everyone in the room without a word.
"Zhu Yuanzheng, you've gone mad! You... you dare arrest me?"
The leading middle-aged man's expression changed drastically. He struggled desperately, but could not break free.
Zhu Yuanzheng sneered.
"I'm not just arresting you. This time, not a single person like you will get away!"
"Lou, you've disgraced not only your identity as a citizen of Huaxia, but your surname as well!"
Zhu Yuanzheng waved his hand.
The group that had been so arrogant a moment earlier, demanding answers, was dragged out by the guards in an instant.
The same thing was happening in many places across Huaxia.
When Huaxia was weak, these people had chosen to sell out their homeland and curry favor with foreign powers.
Then, when Huaxia rose, they would be the first to be cast aside.
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